Fall From Grace
by Kat271
Summary: Where do we go, nobody knows-Don't ever say you're on your way down when-God gave you style and gave you grace-God put a smile upon your face-Where do I go to fall from grace-God put a smile upon your face
1. Default Chapter

None of it belongs to me. Though I wish it did. Then again maybe I don't. well.. I can't decided. Anyway.  
  
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The two men had never been close. They neither liked nor hated each other, but a small amount of respect seemed to remain constant between them. From the outside these two men looked to be incredibly alike. Different names, different faces, but the same motives, same reasoning. However, for these two men neither wanted to be anything like the other. It just ended up that way.  
  
The elder, complex as he may be, was a simple man when it came to love. He'd loved one woman all of his life. Through deceit, betrayal, and more pain than he could fathom, he loved her. She was his one weakness, and he knew it.  
  
The younger was a simple man who fell into a situation more complex than he could ever imagine. He too found the one woman who was meant to love forever. But when he lost her, he made the mistake of looking for love again, elsewhere. His weakness wasn't the love he had for this woman, it was in the lies he told to himself; the pretense that he could forget, stop loving her. In that way she would always be his weakness.  
  
These two were by no means weak men. In fact both were stronger because of the pain they'd endured. Both were well aware of their similarities, both resented them equally. Together they could have helped one another. Together they might even have been friends. But this could never be. Because for the two of them, looking at one another only reminded them of their own faults. The older man saw in the younger the naïve mistakes of his youth, those that had caused him so much pain. The younger man only saw his future. Neither wanted to accept that any of this was true. But some where deep down both acknowledged it, and mutually resigned to remain adversaries.  
  
It just so happened that the day came when these two men had to put aside their differences, their resentment, and themselves. Maybe they didn't consciously do it, but it happened nonetheless. For a day they forgot about each other, and grieved. 


	2. 1

It had been hard to come back from the dead. Not actually the coming back to life part, but the picking up the pieces part. She hated it. Everything was so unfairly ripped apart. She thought that the worst part was that he was married. But she had no idea.  
  
It wasn't like she even had a life to return to. Everything, and everyone had moved on. Nothing was the same. Her home, her things, everything she loved, was sold or disappeared. She had no money, and one hell of a time explaining to the DMV why she needed a new license; because she wasn't dead anymore. They didn't believe her.  
  
Her friends, family, everyone was different. Two years was such a long time. She'd thought that she was the same; that because in her mind no time had passed, that it was a reality for her. But in truth it was only her mind that hadn't aged, or moved forward. Her body certainly had.  
  
She had new scars, new marks, and new lines. It was only two years, but what ever had occurred had left her with several visible worry lines around her eyes. The scar on her stomach worried her most. The doctors refused to explain immediately; they wanted to confirm all of the tests.  
  
Days passed, as she sat alone in the isolated hospital room. She ate tasteless green jello, and read over a hundred magazines. The newspaper interested her the most. A lot had changed in two years.  
  
It was on the forth day when they finally let her father come and visit. With tears in his eyes he entered the room; his hair much whiter, his smile unsure, and relieved. The circles under his eyes made clear his lack of sleep; while his anguish filled eyes told her just what he was feeling.  
  
They sat for a long while. He held her in his arms and they cried together. She had no idea how much she missed him; even if it only been four days. The gravity of the situation was not lost; the reality to hard to imagine.  
  
It was a long while before they spoke, but they talked for hours. They cried more, and managed to laugh a little. But in the end there were plenty of heavily weighted sighs, and long, angst ridded stares.  
  
He'd not let himself fully realize how much he missed her. She'd never known she could need him that much. 


	3. 2

When he pulled up to the house the police and fire fighters were already doing there best to stop the fire. Leaving the car running he ran to the nearest person he could find, demanding answers to his questions. The officer tried to calm him, but there was nothing to be done. He saw the ambulance loading a gurney and sprinted to the spot. It was Will, he was unconscious, the EMT said it didn't look good. "Where are the others? Where's Sydney?" Vaughn said feeling the bile from his stomach start to rise. "This one's the only survivor, he might not make it."

The cell phone. He pulled it out in an instant and rang her over and over again. No answer. He ran to the house, a firefighter was just coming out, shaking his head. Dropping the phone Vaughn grabbed the man. "Where is she?" he yelled. "If there's a god, she wasn't in there." He said before pulling away. Vaughn stood for a moment, unsure of what that meant. But slowly it came to him. If she'd been in the house, then she was dead. Just the thought made him lose the entire contents of his stomach, right there on the lawn.

When they finally let him in he was crying so hard he could barely see anything. The worst of the fire damage was the bedroom. Her bedroom. There were two bodies, if you could call them that. To him they were just two piles of dust covered by black bags. The firefighters were packing up their gear as he walked through the desolate-black area that was once the place he'd loved. It was hers, he loved it dearly.

Some time later, he couldn't be sure how long, two Agents arrived. They asked him questions and got no response. He watched them gather samples, and take statements. They asked again, "Why are you here?" "Do you know who these bodies belonged to?" "Will Tippen is in surgery, we have reason to believe that these are the bodies of Agent Bristow, and her roommate". That one caught his ear. He nearly punched the guy. It wasn't Sydney. It was someone else.

At some point he found himself sitting on the curb staring at the wet street. The ash from the apartment had stained his tears, leaving black tears down his face. He didn't notice anything around him until he heard His voice. "Vaughn, you have to tell me now, where is Sydney?"


End file.
